PROGRAMME · SINCE 2005

Free and Compulsory Basic Education

No fee, no levy and no uniform charge for any pupil in a public basic school in Kano State, from Primary 1 through JSS 3. Led by the State Universal Basic Education Board, with ₦46,800,000,000 committed this year for 2.18 million pupils.

What "free" actually covers

Free and compulsory basic education has been the law in Kano State since the Universal Basic Education Act was domesticated in 2005. In practice the word "free" has to be defended every year, because the cost of running a school does not disappear when the fee does — it moves onto the State. The programme is the machinery that keeps it there: capitation grants paid directly to schools, uniforms and exercise books procured centrally and distributed, examination entries paid in bulk, and an inspection regime that looks for charges being levied on parents.

The coverage is complete for a pupil in a public basic school. Tuition, the parent–teacher association levy, the development levy, the examination charge for the Common Entrance, the BECE and the Qualifying Examination, two sets of the State-issue uniform a session, the core textbooks and the exercise books all cost the family nothing. Pupils in Primary 1 to Primary 3 also receive one hot meal on every school day under the feeding programme.

What the programme does not cover is a private school, a boarding charge in a senior secondary school, or the cost of a school bag and shoes. It also does not, on its own, cover the opportunity cost to a poor family of sending a child to school rather than to work, which is why the girl-child cash transfer and the feeding programme exist alongside it.

What the programme covers

2.18m

Pupils covered

Primary 1 through JSS 3

₦46.8bn

Committed this year

The largest single programme line

3,000

Schools funded

Public primary and junior secondary

₦3,200

Capitation per pupil

Paid to the school each session

The problem it addresses

Kano has the largest school-age population of any state in Nigeria and, in absolute numbers, one of the largest out-of-school populations. Close to a million children of basic-school age in the State are still not enrolled in any formal school, and the reasons are consistent wherever they are asked about: the direct cost of schooling to a poor household, the distance to the nearest school in the rural local government areas, the demand for a child's labour, and — for girls in particular — early withdrawal at the end of primary.

Fees are the part of that the State can remove outright, and it has. The share of the remaining problem that is about money has fallen, and the share that is about distance, classroom space and teacher supply has risen — which is why the programme now spends as much on classrooms and teachers as it does on the things a parent would otherwise have paid for.

Enrolment across the State moved from 2,498,000 in 2019/2020 to 3,400,000 in 2025/2026. Completion of basic education stands at 74.6 per cent and transition into senior secondary at 82.4 per cent. Both are rising and neither is where the State intends them to be.

What a pupil receives

Every one of these is free to the family, in every public primary and junior secondary school in the State.

Tuition for all nine years of basic education.
Two sets of the State-issue uniform each session.
Exercise books for the year and the core textbooks for each class.
Entry to the Common Entrance Examination at the end of Primary 6.
Entry to the Basic Education Certificate Examination and the Qualifying Examination at the end of JSS 3.
One hot meal on every school day, for Primary 1 to Primary 3.
A transfer certificate and a report card, issued without charge.
A place, without an entrance examination, for any child of school age living in the ward.

What the State meets, and what it would otherwise cost a family

Indicative annual cost to a family of one pupil, if the same items had to be bought in the open market. It is the reason the fee-free rule is enforced rather than merely announced.

Item	Charged to the family	Indicative market cost	Met by
Tuition, Primary 1 to JSS 3	Nothing	₦0 in a public school; ₦68,000 a term in an approved private school	The State, through the capitation grant and the teacher payroll
Uniform, two sets a session	Nothing	About ₦9,500	Central procurement, distributed in the first fortnight
Exercise books and core textbooks	Nothing	About ₦12,000	Central procurement and the UBEC textbook window
Common Entrance entry	Nothing	₦1,500	Paid in bulk by the Ministry
BECE entry	Nothing	₦3,500	Paid in bulk by the Ministry
Qualifying Examination entry	Nothing	₦2,000	Paid in bulk by the Ministry
One hot meal a day, Primary 1 to 3	Nothing	About ₦12,350 a session	The Home-Grown School Feeding programme

How a family benefits

There is nothing to apply for. The programme works by removing charges rather than by paying money to families, so the only action a parent takes is enrolment.

Enrol the child at the nearest public basic school

Any public primary or junior secondary school in the ward must admit a child of school age where it has a place. Enrolment takes about twenty minutes at the school and costs nothing.

Enrol early in the first term where you can

A pupil on the register in the sixth week of the first term is captured in the Annual School Census, which drives the school's capitation grant, its textbook allocation and its teacher posting for the year.

Collect the uniform and books

Distributed in the first fortnight of the first term, and at the point of admission for a pupil enrolling mid-session. Sign for them on the school's distribution register.

Refuse any charge

Nothing at all may be charged. If the school asks, take it to the head teacher, then to the local government education authority, then to the Ministry. Do not pay first and complain afterwards.

Keep the child in school through the transition years

The heaviest losses are at the end of Primary 6 and the end of JSS 3. Both examinations are paid for, both placements are automatic, and no fee falls due at either point.

Where the money goes

The bulk of the programme is the teacher payroll for basic education — 41,600 teachers deployed through the 44 local government education authorities. Next is the capitation grant, which is paid directly to the school and is what a head teacher uses for chalk, cleaning, minor repairs, first aid and the running costs a fee would once have covered. The rest is central procurement of uniforms, textbooks and furniture, examination entries paid in bulk, and the State's counterpart contribution to the UBEC matching-grant window that builds classrooms.

Capitation is paid in two tranches, the first released in the sixth week of the first term. It is accounted for by the school's management committee and the return is checked at inspection. A school that does not account for one tranche does not receive the next.

Teacher payroll for 41,600 basic education teachers.
Capitation of ₦3,200 a pupil a session, paid directly to schools in two tranches.
Central procurement of uniforms, textbooks, exercise books and furniture.
Examination entries paid in bulk for every candidate in a public school.
Counterpart funding for the UBEC classroom construction window.

Report a charge

A public basic school in Kano State may not charge a parent anything — not tuition, not a levy, not an examination charge, not a fee for a report card or a transfer certificate, and not a contribution towards furniture, cement or a borehole.

Report a demand to the head teacher, to the local government education authority, or to the Ministry on +234 803 700 1420 or at info@moe.kn.gov.ng. Give the school name and, if you have it, the school code. The complainant's name is not given to the school.

Questions asked about the programme

Does "compulsory" mean a parent can be prosecuted?

The Universal Basic Education Act places a duty on a parent to see that a child of school age is in school, and the local government education authority may take up a persistent failure. In practice the authority begins with a visit and an offer of help — a place at a nearer school, uniform and books, a referral to the feeding programme — because the reason is almost always cost, distance or care responsibilities rather than refusal.

Does it cover private schools?

No. Free basic education applies to public schools. A family choosing an approved private school pays the fees that school has filed with the Private and Voluntary Institute.

Does it cover senior secondary?

Basic education ends at JSS 3, so this programme does not. Tuition in a public senior secondary school is separately free, but a senior secondary school may charge the approved ceilings for a parent–teacher association levy, a laboratory charge, the uniform and boarding.

What is capitation and can a parent see how it is spent?

Capitation is a grant of ₦3,200 a pupil a session paid to the school for its running costs. It is accounted for by the school-based management committee, on which parents sit, and the return is examined at inspection. A parent on the committee is entitled to see the account.

My child's school has no textbooks. Who do I tell?

The head teacher first, then the local government education authority, which holds the distribution record for the school and can raise a supplementary request. Textbook shortages are also picked up at the annual census and in inspection reports.

Is the programme funded by the State alone?

No. The State appropriation is the largest part, and it is matched by the Universal Basic Education Commission through the matching-grant window, with further support from UBEC's teacher development and special education funds and from development partners.

How is progress measured?

Net enrolment, completion of basic education, the transition rate into senior secondary, the gender parity index and the pupil–teacher ratio, all taken from the Annual School Census and published in the education statistics report.

Enrol a child

Enrolment is at the school itself, takes about twenty minutes and costs nothing at any stage.

Find a public school How primary enrolment works Report a charge